I asked my wife, Georgia, to give me some ideas of things she would like for Christmas. She didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cI would be pleased with only one gift,\u201d she said. \u201cThat you quit smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone addicted to cigarettes knows how difficult it is to quit. Whenever business got slow at the caf\u00e9 we owned\u2014or too busy\u2014I eased my nerves with a smoke.<\/p>\n
Georgia worried about my health, as did I, but I couldn\u2019t stay motivated long enough to fight that urge to light up. I tried again, but by Christmas I was still sneaking drags of a cigarette when the cravings became too much to bear. Georgia forgave me, though I knew she was disappointed.<\/p>\n
Not long after the holiday, I paced the caf\u00e9 one afternoon, trying again to fight that craving. The lunch rush had come and gone; my waitress and I were the only ones there. Perfect time for a smoke. I approached the cigarette vending machine near the entrance, dropped my coins in and pulled the lever for my brand.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I felt a tap on my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Startled, I looked up to see a man with a tan complexion and penetrating blue eyes. He gave me a pleasant smile. \u201cI just want to tell you, as one human being to another, you are killing yourself,\u201d he said. Then he gently tapped my shoulder again and left the caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n
I asked the waitress if she had served the man. \u201cWhat man?\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just been you and me in here since lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soon after, I quit smoking for good. I credit the motivation of that mysterious stranger, who helped me give a belated Christmas gift to my wife and added years to my life.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I asked my wife, Georgia, to give me some ideas of things she would like for Christmas. She didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cI would be pleased with only one gift,\u201d she said. \u201cThat you quit smoking.\u201d Anyone addicted to cigarettes knows how difficult it is to quit. Whenever business got slow at the caf\u00e9 we owned\u2014or too […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[62,171,180,197],"ppma_author":[2346],"class_list":["post-14288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels","tag-blessings","tag-earth-angel","tag-guardian-angel","tag-motivational-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n